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NutriSystem: Day 5

Muscle cramps and cardboard soup on the menu

By Joseph S. Enoch
ConsumerAffairs.com

October 2, 2007

Nutrisystem • NutriSystem Leaves a Bad Taste in Many Mouths • Consumer Complaints --- 28 Days of Nutrisystem • Day 28: Mission Accomplished • Day 26: Hold the Eggs • Day 21: Tired, Hungry, Not Much Lighter • Day 14: More Energy, Fewer Pounds • Day 11: Logistics Prove Difficult • Day 5: Cardboard Soup • Day 1: A Brave Beginning --- • Weight Loss News

Dieting is hard.

I assumed that going into it. But now I know. I'm on day five of the NutriSystem diet and day 28 can't come soon enough – but who's counting?

The first day of the diet was shockingly easy. I think I convinced my body that if I get hungry, this whole diet thing is going to be so much harder, so let's just not get hungry. Sadly, mind tricks only exist in Star Wars.

The next morning, I woke up much earlier than expected, especially since it was a Saturday. I was starving. I rummaged through the NutriSystem box in my apartment and pulled out a “blueberry muffin.” Not only was it wholly inadequate calorie-wise, it also felt stale in my mouth and lacked any sort of recognizable flavor. I needed two glasses of water to wash it down.

To take my mind off the hunger, I read the newspaper. Luckily the Saturday edition has no food section.

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The day was not too unbearable, and knowing I was to have a long night with friends, I spread out my meals as much as possible, finally having my dinner entree at 9 p.m.

I allowed for two final snacks to finish my night – a “zesty” Chex Mix rendition and about a dozen peanuts. The NutriSystem “Zesty Herb Mix” did absolutely nothing for me, forcing me to have my peanuts much earlier than I planned. Luckily, the peanuts, combined with about three glasses of water, held me over the rest of the night.

I soberly watched my friends enjoy limitless flows of beer and food. While entertaining to watch -- similar to monkeys chasing each other at the zoo -- it didn't make for a delightful evening. According to Google Maps, I walked about two miles home that night from the bar for my daily exercise.

I regretted that walk the next morning when a terrible cramp in my right leg shocked me out of bed. According to WebMD, cramps, like the one I had, are caused by dehydration (definitely not an issue), too much exercise (possible, but not likely) and a lack of nutrients (bingo).

Regardless, I felt restless the next day and wanted to check out some exhibits at the Natural History Museum and also wanted to enjoy the sun. It's almost a two-and-a-half-mile walk from my apartment to the museum, but it felt good to stretch the twinging muscle.

Halfway through touring the exhibits, I began to run low on energy. The hunger I felt as I moseyed back to my apartment Sunday afternoon is only topped in my life by the time I went on a 36-hour fast in high school to raise money for Sudan relief.

I went out of my way to avoid streets with lots of restaurants and street vendors – not out of fear that I would cave, but because the smells and sights only made my hunger worse.

Cardboard soup

Joe's meat loaf and mashed potato dinner

To make matters worse, that night I had by far the most disgusting NutriSystem meal to date. It was the meat loaf and mashed potatoes.

Although the meat loaf was bland, it wasn't horrendous. The mashed potatoes, on the other hand, were so disgusting, I only forced myself to eat them out of necessity. It looked, felt and tasted like the remnants of a dried-out cardboard soup – and I'm not a picky eater.

Yesterday and today, so far, have been much easier. Yesterday, I even skipped one of my two allowed desserts. It's hard to imagine any real transformation in my body's operations in so few days after years of uncalculated feeding, but I hope that's what's happening. I'm not sure I can handle many more hunger pangs like those I had Sunday.

Interestingly, NutriSystem called me yesterday. Apparently my first story caught their attention. Not sure how he got my cell phone number, but NutriSystem representative Curt Bauer simply called to offer any support and to inform us of a slight error in reporting: it doesn't cost more to select a NutriSystem menu, he informed me.

Many consumers have complained to us about NutriSystem swapping out meals they selected over the Internet, a service they thought they were paying more for.

The way their website is designed, it may not be immediately clear that having the company choose the meals for you is the same $371.50 per 28 days, as the user-selected menu. When I signed up, I thought it was a premium service.

The only savings occur when a consumer decides to have the food auto-shipped at the end of each month, rather than just for 28 days. The auto-ship method costs $320, a savings of more than $50.

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